Southampton recruitment chief Ross Wilson has revealed why he turned down the chance to move to Rangers in February – admitting it was the wrong time to leave St. Mary’s.

The Gers approached the 34-year-old about becoming their director of football after Mark Warburton, Davie Weir and Frank McParland left the club in February but couldn’t entice the Scot to swap the south coast of England for Glasgow’s south side.

With Rangers back at square on after the unexpected departures of their management team, the Gers turned to Wilson to turn the Ibrox side around but the Saints’ head of recruitment decided he was best served staying put in Southampton than heading north.

“There was a lot of media conjecture at the time. There was contact, there were some discussions,” Wilson said, as quoted by BBC Scotland.

“Everything they said was hugely ambitious, great plans for what they’re trying to do with the club, but ultimately it just wasn’t the right time for me to leave England and come back to Scotland.

“It was just something that worked for me at that moment in time.”

After missing out on Wilson, Rangers put hiring a director of football on the backburner to focus on appointing a replacement for Mark Warburton – Pedro Caixinha – before eventually hiring former Manchester City Academy boss Mark Allen in the role originally earmarked for Wilson.

Wilson began his career with Falkirk, doing match reports on the Scottish Championships side’s Under-18 side, before rapidly rising through the ranks at the Bairns to become head of player liasion and earning a move south with Watford.

After a turbulent spell at Vicarage Road, Wilson moved to Huddersfield before eventually winding up with Southampton.